i5 7500 vs i7 7700K Intel Core CPU Comparison Review

Back in late 2016, Intel released multiple new processors in which both the Intel Core i5-7500 and the Intel Core i7-7700K were included. With both of the CPUs featuring the latest Kaby Lake technology and other similarities, it can be intimidating to decide upon either. Now, you are probably looking to either buy a new PC with one of these processors or make your own PC build. Either way, you are here looking for the best option for your exact needs. Let us dig right into it and see which Intel CPU comes out on top in this i5 7500 vs i7 7700K comparison.

Intel Core i5-7500

Intel Core i7-7700K

8.2/10

9.5/10

Power or Price?

Now, it must be said. Both of these processors feature new technology, are well made, efficient and has lots of bang for the buck. That said, there is a clear winner here. The Intel Core i7 7700K is somewhat more expensive than the i5 7500, which makes sense, as it outrules the processor in most ways. Like in any other case, you will simply have to decide whether the extra power is worth your money. Keep in mind, the i5 7500 is still a great choice and is very well built. It is just cheaper thus has less power. You can see the i7-processor as the i5 7500 on steriods.

Let us get a little more specific with the i5 7500 vs i7 7700K here…

Intel Core i5-7500

Intel Core i7-7700K

Cores

4 cores

4 cores

Threads

4 threads

8 threads

Base Clock

3.4GHz

4.2GHz

Turbo Clock

3.8GHz

4.5GHz

Energy Efficiency

65 watts

91 watts

As you can see, the results are pretty clear here. They are both built upon the same Kaby Lake technology from 2017, but the i7-model features both double the threads and way better clock speeds. The only benchmark where the i5-processor wins, is when it comes to thermal design power. It is more energy efficient, but really, you get a much more processing power with the i7-7700K.

Intel Core i5 5700 vs i7 7700K for Gaming & Desktop Use

Both of the CPUs score pretty well for both tasks. The Intel Core i7-7700K has a 32% higher single-core speed, which means that it can handle singlular tasks faster. Now, what does this mean? Playing a game could be a singular task. This means, that the processor is gonna perform significantly better when running heavy singular tasks such as gaming. The same goes for video editing, photo editing and so on. But wait! When it comes to multi-core tasks such as graphic design and video editing, the i7 scores a whopping 875 points! Compared to the i5 with only 469 points, that is a 87% percent increase! With the Intel Core i7-7700K, you are gonna get almost double the efficiency in such tasks! In my opinion, the i5 5700 vs i7 7700K face-off is becoming a onesided battle!

The Effective Speed of the Intel Core Processors

In terms of PC processors, we often refer to a very important number called the effective speed. Back in the day, measuring performance from clock speeds was an easy task because the performance and clock speed used to follow along. Nowadays where the boundaries have been pushed upwards, things have changed. Once you get over the 3GHz clock speed mark, performance does not increase as drastically. To combat this, the term effective speed was created.

Now, the i7-7700K is actually considered the be the #1 CPU with most effective speed scoring a perfect 100%.

To compare, the Core i5-processor scores 81%, which is decent, but there is still a huge difference here!

Another handsome table to prove my point… This is how well the processors score for several different tasks.

Intel Core i5-7500

Intel Core i7-7700K

Gaming

81%

100%

Desktop Use

79%

100%

Workstation

49%

74%

The conclusion of Intel Core i5 7500 vs i7 7700K only comes down to whether you are willing to pay those extra dollars for the relatively large performance gap.

My Conclusion

I do realise that the price gap can be an issue for some. It makes perfect sense to save some money and go for the cheaper i5-processor. But the i7-7700K has really proven its point. It is the #1 most popular processor on the entire market right now, sitting at more than 4% of the market share. It an extremely powerful solution coming at an unheard of price. Never before has so much power been packed into a single CPU with so much diversity at that price. If you simply cannot spend the extra money, do not feel sad. You are still gonna be left with a great and new processor in the i5-7500, but these two are really a world apart.

The Intel Core i7-7700K is the winner of the i5 7500 vs i7 7700K face-off. The effective speed is at a 100% as the only processor on the market. It is an absolute killer for gaming and desktop usage and you are gonna be a happy owner for years to come with this processor. Just a year back, you would have to pay way more to get something in the range of this processor. Thankfully, Intel really stepped up their game here. I i5-processor is a cheaper and decent solution, but if you have the extra money, do not even hesitate with buying the i7 CPU.

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